Harper's Experiment
by Xeromem
Summary: Harper has invented a new version of his teleportation device. When he tries it out on Beka there are some unexpected results. This story is the third of a series of shared universe stories written by several authors. This is my first Fan Fic. Complete.
1. Chapter 1

**_Authors: Xeromem_****_  
_****_Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, not getting paid etc_****_  
_****_Rating: PG-13_****_  
_****_Archive: tell us first_****_  
_****_Review: please_****_  
_****_A/N: This is the sequel to Mechanistra._**

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**Harper's Experiment**

_**Harper's Lab**_

It was well into early morning hours on the Andromeda Ascendant, there were few crew members standing watch so there very few rooms aboard the Andromeda Ascendant that were fully lighted. However there was one room in the engineering section that had been in almost constant use for the past few days. Inside this room there was a plate with a half eaten meal and a number of empty beverage cans lying about on a small table off to one side of a large work bench. A young blonde haired man was working at the bench, laboring on what looked like a partially constructed metal box with numerous circuit boards, wires, power relays and other miscellaneous electronic equipment. He was working at a furious pace, as if he were working from a set of thoroughly detailed instructions and plans, but there was nothing of the sort present.

"Careful there" said Harper to himself as slight wisp of smoke and the smell of burnt hair rose from the work bench in his engineering lab.

"It wouldn't do at all if I, Seamus Zelazny Harper, were to kill myself just before completing my greatest invention. Well, second greatest. Not at all."

Harper continued working on his project. His concentration on what he was doing was so intense that he was not even aware that he was rambling on out loud or that Andromeda's image briefly appeared then disappeared in the compartment's communication view screen.

"Checking up on Harper again?" Logic asked Andromeda.

"Of course, you know how dangerous he is when he's like this" she replied, "You remember when he tested his improved intruder defense system three months ago. He managed to blow 53 holes in my hull in 0.013 seconds. Luckily the cargo bay he tested it in was empty."

"You know he's not going to say anything more than he already has about what he is working on" said Logic. "Were just going to have to wait until he tells us what it is, unless he electrocutes himself again."

"Should we tell Dylan about this?"

"No, he hasn't made any potentially lethal alterations to any of our systems, yet."

"Or injured himself yet. I'll continue to monitor him just in case he creates a medical emergency."

_**The Officer's Mess**_

The officers country was moderately busy when Trance and Beka sat down at one of the empty tables to eat lunch. Trance liked to eat her meals in the presence of others. It made her feel more connected with the crew members somehow. She was glad that they would soon be docking at El Dorado Drift for maintenance and resupply. The crew would get some much needed shore leave and they would be getting reinforcements to replace the lancers they had recently lost in their fight with the Replicators.

"Beka, what did you want to talk to me about" Trance asked?

"Oh that, we'll be docking in about an hour . After I finish making all the arrangements for maintenance and supplies I'm going to do a little shopping for some clothes. Well anyway I wanted to ask if you wanted to come with me."

"What do you need to get more clothes for? You've got more than enough as it is?"

"Well technically I don't need to get new clothes, but I want have something new for the wedding that's coming up. And besides I like shopping and you used to like it too."

"That is true I used to like it and I still do but I have too many things to get done be before I can go ashore."

"You hardly ever do stuff like this with me since you changed places with yourself. Are you sure that you don't want to go?"

"Beka, I really do want to go but not now. I know, why don't you take Harper with you?"

"You ought to bite your tongue for suggesting that Trance. The last time I brought him along while I was shopping for clothes, he got us thrown out of the store. Never again."

"I'm worried about him. Andromeda told me that he's hardly getting any sleep lately, and that he's been spending most of his time working on something in his lab."

"Now that is something to worry about, Harper working on something in his lab." Beka said jokingly but there was a look of concern in her eyes for a moment. She dismissed it saying, "No, he 's probably been having nightmares again and that's why he's not going to sleep. In a couple weeks he'll be back to normal again and then you can rest easy."

"I suppose your right Beka, you have known him longer than I have"

"Well I gotta go,. I want make sure everything's ready before we dock."

Beka got up from the table and as she started to leave she asked "Are you sure you don't want to go?" Trance shook her head no. Beka turned and left saying "If you change your mind you know where to find me."

_**Back in Harper's Lab**_

"Now for one last adjustment here ... and here. It should work right this time." Harper said as he closed an access panel on what looked like a rectangular metal box 4'x4'x3' with a miniature sensor array in the center of the top. It also had what was obviously a control panel but there were no labels on anything that would indicate its function. Next to the device there was a freestanding pedestal with a clear seamless plastic ball on it . Across the lab an identical pedestal and lab were set up.

"Now to test you." he said as he started working the controls. The only indication that anything was happening was that was the lights on the control panel flashed on, the room was filled with with a barely audible hum, and the overhead lights flickered for a moment. He then checked the readings on the instrument control panel.

"It works." he shouted. "Man am I brilliant or what."

Just then Beka's voice came from the intercom. "Harper where are those engineering reports and the list of supplies you said I would have this morning?"

Harper turned to the view screen and answered, "I sent it to your workstation last night boss. Didn't you find it."

"No I did not find it" Beka said with an irritated tone of voice.

"Don't worry boss, just give me a couple minutes to shut this mess I'm working on down, then I'll bring you a new copy. Ok?" He then turned back to start shutting down his work. "

"Okay, but don't take too long."

A few moments after Beka's image disappeared from the view screen Andromeda's image appeared. She watched Harper as he was shutting down the device that he had been working on. As he turned to pick up a stylus and the reports she said "Harper you didn't send those reports last night like you just said you did."

Harper looked surprised at her voice, then he turned to her and said "Are you sure? I could have sworn that I did."

"No, you didn't. You were too busy working on that thing all night, and frankly it has me worried."

"Don't worry about a thing Andromeda. I haven't made any changes or additions to any of your systems. In fact I'll be ready to give a demonstration in about two maybe three hours."

"That's what I am afraid of . You remember the results of your last unauthorized project, don't you."

Harper grimaced at the memory of the incident.

"Are you kidding, of course I remember. Dylan said that if I were to ever again modify or enhance any of your weapons systems without his express permission, he would personally shove me into the nearest life pod and eject it. He also said that he might even let you use pod for target practice. I love talking with you Andromeda but I gotta go get these to Beka, if I make her wait too long she just might skin me alive."


	2. Chapter 2

_**Outside the Command Deck**_

A few minutes later Harper met up with Beka as she was leaving the command deck.

"There you are Harper, I was going to look for you. Now if you don't have those reports ready I'm going..."

"Here you go Boss" Harper said with a grin as he handed her the reports and the list of supplies he needed for engineering. "I'm sorry that I was late getting it to you. So what are you gonna do after you make all the arrangements for the supplies and the reinforcements? Maybe after I finish telling the maintenance crews what needs to be done I can join you."

"I'm going to go shopping for some new clothes for the wedding," she answered, "and before you ask, no you can't go." She headed for the shuttle bay with Harper walking along side. "Besides I thought you were still working on what ever it is you've been working on. Just what are you working on?"

I want that to be a surprise and I'm almost finished with it. I might even be able to demonstrate it later."

"It better not be like the last demonstration you gave."

"Why does everyone keep bringing that up? It was just one little mistake. Besides I was only trying to make us safer from intruders, such as the Magog for example."

"We all know that you were only trying to help protect us all but you went overboard like you usually do. I mean it's all well and good to improve the effectiveness of the intruder defense system, but destroying the ship along with the intruders is just going too far."

"Well, when you have a bunch of little magog eggs inside you, you would probably feel differently about that. Besides the pulse generators I put in weapons were not labeled correctly." Harper then reached out pulled Beka to a stop and the stylus in his hand made a barely perceptible hiss as it poked her.

"Ow! Harper! Watch what your doing with that thing.

"Sorry boss. As I was saying, that brings me to something I wanted to point out to you. When you submit the orders for these replacement and spare parts I have on this list, make sure that they know that we will not accept any substitutions of any kind."

"Ok, Harper I 'll make sure to tell them. Now I've got to take a shuttle and go see the port master to finish making the arrangements for docking and maintenance.

_**Command Deck**_

A little over two hours later when Dylan had finished relinquishing control of the ship to El Dorado's shipyards so they could bring the Andromeda in to dock. Rommie moved next to Dylan in front of the main view screen. She watched along side him as the ship was being pulled in to the docks. "This is the part I like the least about docking," she said to him " and I know you don't like it any better either."

"Your right Rommie, I don't like it." he replied. "Giving up control is never easy, but sometimes you must do exactly that in order to get things done right."

Logic appeared in front of them. "Dylan, Harper has just informed me that he is officially done with his experiment. He said that he would like to give us a demonstration that will as he put it, knock our socks off, just as soon as he gives the maintenance crews their instructions. Which shouldn't take more than an hour."

"Andromeda, Rommie and you Logic does any of you know what he's been working on?"

"No, we do not." answered all three simultaneously. Making it clear to Dylan that they did not like that at all. He wondered which it was that bothered them more. The not knowing what it was or the fact that Harper could keep them from finding out. They ought to know by now that if Harper wants to do something, he's going to figure out how to do it, even if it seems impossible.

"I don't like that either, but well soon find out. As long as he hasn't improved or enhanced the weapons, engines or power systems we should be safe, right girls." The look on his face showed that he believed what he just said as much as they did, which was very little.

_**El Dorado Drift**_

As Beka left the port masters office she saw that Trance was waiting for her. When Trance saw Beka coming out of the office she gave a smile that would brighten anyone's day, no matter how bad it was. The kind of smile that she used have fairly often before she changed places with her older self. When Beka saw that smile she felt lighter and everything seemed brighter. She returned the smile then quickly walked over to Trance and gave her an embrace, as if she were a long lost friend who had just returned.

"I'm so glad you came Trance. Its been a long time since we've done anything like this."

"I know, its been an even longer time for me." she replied. "I had just finished the medical report on the crew and I was about to send them to your workstation, when I thought why not bring them to you personally. So here you go," and she handed the report to Beka.

"Trance, you didn't need to use that as an excuse," Beka said as she took the report and put it in her pocket, "but I'm not complaining. I'm curious though, why did you change your mind about coming?"

"After you left I was thinking about what you said, along with some of the things that happened in the future that I came from. It seemed to me that it was foolish not to go with you. Life's too short to not do things like this with your friends when you get the opportunity too, because you never know when or if your going to get another chance to do it again."

"Yeah, life's too short for me not you. Trance I have no idea just how old you are and you've never given me an answer that is of any help when I ask you."

"That's the trouble Beka, I can't give an answer that is helpful because I don't know how old I am. I know that I am still young as far as my race is concerned and that I am older than you. But that is not important anyway, because we have the same amount of time together. Neither one of has anymore or any less time with the other than the other one has."

Beka stood there with a puzzled look on her face for a few moments then said, "I don't know if I will ever really understand what you just said, but thanks for trying." She then turned to head down the busy port towards the shops that lined the walkways not far from the docks.

"Let's go do some shopping Trance. Where do you want to go first, clothes or gifts?"

"Clothes." she answered with a sparkle in her eye.

**_Harper's Lab_**

As Tyr entered Harpers lab he saw theat Dylan, Rommie, Core and Logic were all gather there for the demonstration of Harper's latest project.

"What is so important that you called us all here for" asked Tyr?

"Yes Harper," asked Dylan "just what have you been working on that we're all dying to find out what it is?"

"Dylan, I don't think you should phrase it quite that way," Rommie remarked. "You realize with one of Mr Harper's invention's that might easily be what happens."

"Okay, okay I get the point. Sheesh, a guy makes one little mistake and you never let him forget about it."

"Harper 53 holes in my hull is not a little mistake." stated Andromeda.

"Well anyway," Harper continued, "as I started to say that in or recent encounter with SG1, Thor and the Replicators, we all saw some pretty advanced technology. I mean those Asgard seem to have really neat technology that I didn't get a chance to look at."

"That means that he couldn't hack into their computer's database system," commented Logic.

"That's besides the point," Harper retorted. "Well the Asgard's beaming technology was just fantastic. I mean Thor used it to save our butts a few times against the Replicators.. Ever since then I have been trying to figure out a way to do it ourselves. I finally figured out how to do it."

As Tyr opened his mouth to say something, Dylan shot him a look that warned him to not Interrupt Harper.

"The key to the solution was in the information that they gave us on the Replicators. Without that it might have been years before I figured it out. This is what I came up with." Harper motioned to the metal box in the center of the lab. " Now to demonstrate it for you, it's gonna knock your socks off."

"Get on with it" growled Tyr.

"First I gotta call Beka" said Harper. "Beka, come in Beka."

"Yes Harper, what is it?" she answered.

"You know that thing I've been working on, I'm going to demonstrate it now."

"Go ahead and do it without me, I'm busy right now. You can show me later."

"Hang on to your socks Beka." He said as he activated the device. Then the room was filled with a low hum and a momentary flash of light.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Harper's Lab **_

"Well Harper?" Asked Dylan "Did it work or was this another one of your mistakes?"

"It should have worked boss. All the readings show that it worked. Beka should be here now."

"Dylan," said Rommie "I believe it did work, see." Rommie was pointing to what appeared to be a small pile of rags on the floor about six feet in front of them. They all walked over to where Rommie had pointed for a closer look.

"I don't believe it Harper. I just don't believe it." said Dylan.

Harper looked stunned as he stared a the mound of clothes on the floor.

_**El Dorado Drift**_

Beka felt an odd tingling sensation for a moment then a cool draft chilled her.

"Come on Trance let's go, the store's up ahead two doors on the left."

She paused a moment when she saw that everyone nearby was staring at her. "What's wrong Trance, why is everyone..." Beka's voice trailed off as she saw the look of total surprise on Trance's face and followed her gaze. Beka now knew that it wasn't the air conditioning that had caused her sudden chill but the fact that all her clothes had suddenly vanished. Even though she had no taboo's about nudity, she also definitely didn't care for being disrobed in a crowd of strangers.

She noticed Trance frantically speaking into her communicator. After a moment Trance looked at her and spoke one word "Harper"

Beka's face flushed red with anger as realized what had happened. "HARPER, you son of a bitch, I'm gonna kill you for this! " She yelled into her empty hand before she noticed she was no longer holding her com link. When she looked at Trance again, she saw that Trance was still talking into her communicator while looking about as if looking for some thing..

"Let me have that thing," she snapped at Trance, literally snatching the communicator out of her hands. "I want to have some words with Harper."

_**Harper's Lab**_

"Dylan, Trance has just informed me that she and Beka are both unharmed but that it would be best if Harper were to stay clear of Beka for a while."

"Thank you Andromeda. Well, Mr. Harper, what do you have to say about this?" asked Dylan while trying to keep a straight face.

"You know Harper , she might just decide to kill you for this." commented Tyr. He was trying and failing miserably to keep from laughing. Both Rommie and Andromeda were starting to chuckle also.

"It's not my fault it didn't work right" Harper said weakly. "It should have worked."

"Harper." said Dylan, trying to get his attention.

"Everything was working correctly." Harper continued as he examined the instrument panel, not even noticing Dylan.

"HARPER!" said both Dyan and Rommie louder this time.

"The instruments show that every thing worked just like they did in the tests." he said as he pulled out his interface cable and proceeded to connect himself to the computer, no longer aware of anyone else in the room or that he was beginning to ramble on.

"**HARPER!**" yelled Dylan, Rommie and Andromeda simultaneously, finally getting his attention.

"What boss?" asked Harper as he turned to face them. He saw Tyr leaving the lab laughing harder than he had ever seen him laugh before. "Glad I could make somebody's day."

Dylan merely pointed to Beka's clothes on the floor.

"Oh, right Boss." he said as he figured out what Dylan meant. Andromeda indicated to him that she had a channel to Trance and Beka ready. "Beka I'm really, really sorry about this. It wasn't supposed to happen like this."

"Harper I don't give a damn about how it was supposed to work, it didn't," Beka snarled into Trance's com link with a tone of unmistakable anger in her voice.

" I'm going to make it up to you boss and I'll start by sending your clothes back to you right away."

"That's a good start Harper. No wait, don't send them down. I don't want to risk another one of your disasters. Trance and I are right in front of a clothing store I'll get some clothes here."

"Get yourself anything you want boss. I'll pay for it." Harper offered.

Of course you are Harper. You're going to pay in ways you can't even imagine." she said in a menacing tone that made Harper shudder.

"Harper!" Dylan snapped at him. "Later I want to see you in my office, but in the mean time I want you to figure out just what went wrong." He turned and headed out of the lab without waiting for Harper to reply, giving in to the laughter he had been struggling to contain.. Rommie left close behind him while Andromeda and Logic disappeared leaving Harper to his work and wondering if Beka would have the kindness to simply shoot him rather than shoving him out an airlock.

_**El Dorado Drift**_

"Come on Beka let's get to the store before this crowd gets any worse" Trance said while reaching to help Beka make her way to the store.

Then an old woman who had been making her way through the crowd stopped when she saw Beka. There was a look of surprise on her face which quickly turned to one compassion. She was dressed in clothing that looked more like rags than anything else. She was wearing a tattered red cloak which had faded over the years. Although there were many stains on it, it was neatly patched and the way she wore it made it clear that this was her most prized possession.

"Oh my." she said. Then she quickly pulled off her tattered cloak and pushed it into Beka's hands saying "You need this more than I do." Then she moved off into the crowd disappearing as quickly as she had appeared.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Dylan's Office**_

It had taken Dylan almost an hour before he could think about what had happened without laughing. Now two hours later he thought that Harper had had enough time to figure out what had gone wrong and maybe even to have devised a solution. He turned to Andromeda as she appeared on the view screen in his office and said, "I need you to monitor and record what Harper says when I talk to him. You know how difficult it is to understand him when he's explaining something he invented."

"Dylan, I presently have archived 23 detailed reports from him about his inventions that neither I, nor anyone else in the Commonwealth can understand. The chance that there is anyone besides Harper in the Commonwealth that is competent to understand this one is almost non-existent."

Dylan sighed then called out "Harper." When Harper appeared on screen Dylan said, "I want you to report to my office ASAP."

"Sure thing Boss" Harper replied and then he disappeared from the view screen. The room was filled with a low hum and a momentary flash of light. "Is this soon enough for you?" Harper ask immediately after materializing in front of Dylan's desk.

"I see that you got it fixed."

"I didn't fix nothing, it was working right the whole time."

"Then what went wrong?"

"I don't know yet. After I checked the teleporter for malfunctions I tested it on some objects. Everything worked perfectly so I programed a batch of nano-bots for myself and ..."

"Wait a second," interrupted Dylan. "What about these nano-bots? Are they anything like those replicators? You said you got the idea on how to do it from the replicators."

"No boss, they're nothing like that. You see the problem with the teleporter was that once I had figured out how to de-materialize and re-materialize things , which is easy once you realize that matter is a form of energy being held in a stable pattern, we didn't have sensors that were good enough to lock on to it. I'm mean Thor's people are way ahead of us in that department. According to what Major Carter and Dr. Jackson say, the Asgard have been working on this stuff for a few million years. So..."

"Harper, get to the point and keep it simple."

"Right Dylan. Well these nano-bots not only serve as a beacon for the teleporter to lock on to its target, they also help focus the energy field necessary for de-materialization. You see I got a hint about the energy field from how the basic replicator building blocks recombine after being broken apart. The replicator blocks generate a low energy electromagnetic field that causes them to be attracted to each other and recombine. Only this isn't your normal electromagnetic field which has a very short range of effect. No this one also emits through a sub-dimension of the normal space/time continuum, which increases its range to about 2 AU's. This is the energy field that the shorinol disrupts so we could destroy them and they couldn't recombine. The circuitry to produce that electromagnetic energy field in the replicators is an integral part of the replicators. Well I've constructed several varieties of nano-bots that attach themselves to living organic compounds, non-living organic compounds inclose proximity to living organic compounds and inorganic compounds .."

"Nano-bots that attach to people and the clothes and equipment on their persons. Right?"

"Uh, yeah boss. These nano-bots produce a momentary high energy field when activated by the teleporter that de-materializes what it is attached to and almost instantaneously re-materializes it in the complimentary energy field projected by the device. You know it's actually kind of simple when I think about it. This energy field creates a conduit through a sub dimension of normal space in which all points have no discernable distance between them, as far as we're concerned that is.

"You call this keeping it simple, Harper? Just get to the point where you tell me why you "Beamed up" Beka's clothes and equipment and not Beka." Dylan said in an irritated tone of voice.

"Well the nano-bots that were supposed to attach to Beka herself didn't get activated when the rest of them did. Why they didn't work, I don't know. It's as if they were destroyed by being in contact with Beka."

"If you don't have any thing further to add I think I will let you get back to work this. You might want to check with Trance about those nano-bots that didn't work on Beka."

"I'll get on it right away." said Harper and he raised what looked like a remote, pushed a button and disappeared.

"Dylan, I am getting concerned about Harper." Andromeda commented.

"Why, what's wrong?"

"I have been monitoring his meds and each time that he has teleported himself, there was an unusual surge of energy in his neurological system. The effects appear to be cumulative. Each time the surge was a little stronger and lasted a little longer."

"Keep an eye on him Andromeda, we can't afford to lose him."

_**El Dorado Drift**_

Beka and Trance exited a shop with a holographic sign that said "Welcome to Aurora's Clothing Emporium: The Finest Clothes and the Latest Fashions in the Quadrant". The sign switched between eight major languages every five seconds. Beka had a small anti-grav shopping cart she had rented from the clothing store. In the cart she had two large dress boxes and a couple of bags.

"Beka, I thought you were only going to get one outfit for the wedding."

"I am, this one is for you" Beka said as she picked up one of the boxes..

"Oh thank you Beka, but I didn't ask for one. How much do I owe you for it."'

"Nothing Trance, but you can thank Harper for it when we get back to the ship." Beka paused in front of an open air café. She looked at Trance and motioned towards one of the empty tables "Lets stop here and get a drink before we finish shopping. Harper's buying."

"Don't you think your getting carried away with this? That flight jacket you got cost ten times the amount of your other one, and that was one of the cheapest things you bought."

"He owes me and he is going to pay for what he did." Beka said with a slight growl as they sat down. As the waitress approached and started to hand them a menu Beka stopped her and said "Just bring us a bottle of your best wine."

"You know that he didn't mean to do it, I mean that he didn't intend for it to happen the way it did." Trance said after the waitress left.

"That's just the problem he never intends for it to happen but it always does. This time he went to far. He used me as a guinea pig without even asking me."

"He just wanted to surprise you."

"Surprise me! That's an understatement. He left me naked in the middle of a crowd of people on a busy street. That's what he did." Beka's face flushed with anger as she remembered the incident. She stared at Trance as she saw that Trances sides were heaving spasmodically and that Trance her hands over her mouth. "What's wrong Trance," she asked? Then she heard a muffled laugh which quickly grew louder . Trance dropped all attempts to keep from laughing and lowered her hands to hold her side as she gave in to the laughter.

When the waitress arrived with the wine and two glasses Trance was still laughing loud and uncontrollably. Beka paid with the temporary voucher which had arrived while she and Trance were the clothing store and charged everything she bought with it to Harper's account. As she paid the waitress commented "That must have been some joke."

"I guess so, but I didn't think it was that funny," Beka replied. " Would you please bring me a glass of water and a towel as quickly as you can?" The waitress took less than a minute to bring a towel, a glass and a pitcher of water from which she proceeded to fill the glass. "Thank you and please leave the pitcher." Beka told her. As the waitress left Beka stood, picked up and emptied the pitcher over the head of the still laughing Trance.

Beka sat back down as Trance shrieked out of surprise drawing even more attention to than her laughing had. Beka tossed the towel to Trance and then poured a glass of wine and waited for Trance to dry herself. "Why did you do that", asked Trance?.

"What were you laughing at that was so funny?"

"Well you were talking about what happened and I got to thinking about it and then I remembered the look on your face when you realized what had happened." Trance paused as she watched Beka's expression which showed an equal measure of anger and frustration. " Well it was funny, really it was. Look nobody got hurt right."

"I wasn't hurt, I was just humiliated in public, that's all." Beka retorted.

"See every things ok. A little humiliation is good for us, it keeps us humble." Trance said in a cheery tone of voice as she started looking around for something.

"Sure you might not mind being humiliated, but I do. What are you looking for?"

"This." Said Trance as she pulled a small bundle wrapped in a plain unmarked wrapper out of the cart and placed it on the table.

"What is it?"

"The old woman's cloak," she replied as she opened the package and showed Beka the freshly washed and mended cloak. "See. I had it cleaned and mended while you were trying on clothes."

"I thought you threw that away, at least that's what I asked you to do with it."

"No." said Trance with an uncharacteristic amount of defiance in her voice. "I couldn't do that. It was obviously her most valued possession, the least we could do was clean and mend it before we give it back to her."

"You gotta be kidding Trance. Just where are we going to find her in the first place. Besides what difference would it make?"

"It makes a difference Beka, everything we do makes a difference."

"Really Trance, I hadn't noticed," Beka replied with a sarcastic tone of voice. She drank some more of her wine before continuing. "After everything we've done the past few years it doesn't seem to have changed anything. At least not for the better. We helped restore the Commonwealth, but it's still the same old corrupt governments running the show. The Nietzscheans are still around causing trouble and the collectors are still just as dangerous as ever. As far as I can see we haven't made a damn bit of difference."

"We've made a difference Beka, believe me we've made a world of difference."

"Is that so. Look at Harper for instance, I save his ass from the Nietzscheans and Magog on earth. Then I save his ass a few more times on top of that and look what thanks I get. He uses me as a guinea pig in one of his projects that leaves me naked in a crowd of strangers."

"Beka!" Trance exclaimed in shock. "You know very well that Harper has saved not only yours but Dylan's , Tyr's and everyone else's lives more times than all of you put together have saved his. How many times have any of even acknowledged that fact let alone thanked him for it?" Trance paused to take a sip of her wine while Beka stared in stunned surprise. "You know he doesn't do it for praise or reward. He does it because he is saving the only family he has left. That's why, and for him that is enough thanks." She paused and a look came over her face as if were seeing something that only she could see.

Beka cleared her throat and said "Trance, you know I didn't mean it the way it sounded, especially the last part about Harper. I was angry and I was just blowing off some steam."

"No Beka I think you really did mean it that way and that's why we have to find the old woman even more now." Trance activated her com-link and said, "Andromeda, can you send a Maria or a crewmember to the El Dorado café to pick up Beka's stuff and bring it back to the ship. Beka and I have something that we need to take care of first.


	5. Chapter 5

_**El Dorado Drift**_

As Beka looked down the filthy alleyway she saw the old woman sitting on the ground with her back resting against the side of the building. She appeared to be sleeping but a moment later she lifted her head and looked around as if watching for someone to come. Beka took Trance's hand and with her free hand pointed down the alley said, "There she is Trance." They walked to where the woman sat and knelt down beside her.

"Why , hello child." the woman greeted Beka. "I'm glad to see you again."

"I came to return this" Beka said holding out the freshly laundered and neatly folded cloak for the woman. "I was hoping that there was something I could do for to thank you for your kindness."

The old woman weakly pushed the cloak back to Beka. "Thank you my dear , but I don't need this any more. I want you to keep it. Maybe some day you can give it to someone who needs it as much as you did."

"There must be something that we can do for you? Some food maybe or a place to spend the night at least?" Beka asked.

"No dear, I don't need any of those things now. But, could you wait with me for a while?"

"Of course we'll wait with you." Trance said more to Beka than to the old woman.

"Yes, we'll wait with you as long as you want us to". Beka added.

"Don't worry dear, it won't be long now. I can feel him coming already."

"Who's coming?" Beka asked.

"You'll know soon enough. I can see him coming now." replied the woman.

Beka looked in the direction the woman looking, and saw nothing but the end of the alley. She glanced over at Trance, who just shrugged her shoulders and said nothing. She looked back down the alley once more to insure nothing was there and this time she saw it. There was what movement like a veil or curtain being drawn aside and a pale figure cloaked in black appeared. Beka felt the icy cold shiver of fear run down her spine as it approached. She quickly rose to her feet intending to protect her from the apparition . The fearful figure paused for a moment.

At that moment she felt Trance gently take hold of her shoulders and pull her aside. Trance said softly , "Don't interfere with what must be."

As he began to move closer she felt herself grow even more afraid than she had ever been in her life. The figure stopped when it was a few paces from Beka and Trance. The figure looked at Beka then said in surprisingly soothing and melodious voice to no one in particular. "The veil is thin before this ones eyes if she can see me clearly enough to fear me. "Pointing at Beka it said to her, "You may witness that which must be."

As it said those words the image of the alleyway faded and was overwhelmed by a bright light emanating from the figure before her. The figure no longer appeared to be robed in black but instead in the purest white robes that she had ever seen in her life. The bright light seemed to be coming from the skin of the man in front of her. He appeared to be an ethereal being for his beauty was too perfect for that of a mortal being. At the same time she was almost overwhelmed by a feeling of peace and well being coming from him.

He stepped forward to the old woman on the ground, whom Beka had momentarily forgotten about. Reaching down he took her hand. When he pulled her up her body stayed on the ground and Beka saw a beautiful young woman rise up out of the now abandoned body. The look on the young woman's face was one of relief and joy. She turned to Beka and said "Thank you so much for what you have done for me."

"Why are you thanking me? " Beka asked. " I should be thanking you instead for helping me"

"No my dear, it was your need that allowed me to perform one last unselfish act of compassion. In doing so I have redeemed myself when I thought it was no longer possible. It is I who is indebted to you, not you to me." She turned to leave with the man. As they walked away Beka saw for a moment a host of angelic beings rushing forward to welcome the woman as she joined them. Then the sight faded from her eyes as if a veil was once more drawn before her eyes. She stood there for a minute, not moving or doing anything that might disturb the memory of what she had just witnessed.

She turned to Trance and asked, "Did you see that?"

"Yes I saw what you saw"

"Were they what I think they are?"

"What do you think they are Beka?"

"They were angels weren't they?"

"Yes Beka they were angels. They had come to welcome a lost soul who was returning home."


	6. Chapter 6

_**Onboard the Eureka Maru **_

Later that evening Beka was in her cabin on the Maru trying to relax. At first she had thought of playing one of the CD's she had got back from Rafe, then she remembered that none of them would play since she got them back. She tried reading one of her horror novels but couldn't stop thinking about the days events and what Trance had said on their way back..

"_Beka you were very lucky today, because very few people get to witness something like that while they are still alive. Just think if Harper hadn't transported your clothes off of you, you wouldn't have been there to see it. So in a way I guess you ought to thank him."_

"Damn it Trance why did you have to say that." she said to herself out loud. "Now it's going to be that much harder to stay mad at him."

Beka tried reading her book again but after 15 minutes of trying she just couldn't get into the story so she put the book down and sat there trying to figure out what it was that she wanted to do. Although she was hungry she didn't feel like going to get something to eat yet. She wasn't sure what she wanted to do; part of her wanted to stay right where she was and be angry at Harper while another part of her wanted to go find him and talk to him. So she did what she usually did at times like these, she pulled out what she had thought of as her treasure chest when she was a child. As she pulled out an ordinary box she thought that in a very real way it actually was a treasure chest, since it contained her most precious belongings.

The first thing her eyes fell upon was an old Clarinthian angel doll. She remembered how she had bugged her father and everyone else on the Maru about how much she wanted one. Then she remembered how happy she was when she finally got it. From that day forward it had been her favorite toy. She picked it up and looked at it; then she said to it, "You know what I saw today? I saw a real angel today. In fact I saw a whole lot of angels and they were just as beautiful and magical as you are. Did you know that? Of course you did." As she held the doll she thought about how much she had loved it as a little girl and how much it still meant to her. After a few minutes of remembering all the fun she had playing with it she decided to shake it. When she did she heard it jingle just like a bell the way it used to.

"You know they say that every time a bell rings an angel gets their wings," said Harper from behind her making her jump. She turned to see Harper with a serving tray covered with a cloth in his hands, and a large tool bag hanging from his shoulder.

"How long have you been there?" she snapped at him.

"I just got here, don't worry I won't be here long. I just came to bring you something to eat since Trance said that you would probably be hungry," he said. Then in a hopeful tone of voice he added, " I also brought a surprise, one that I know you will like.

"Well just leave it there by the hatch then leave me alone." she told him angrily as she sat on the bunk and set the doll beside her. She watched as he set down the tray and the bag on the deck just inside the cabin with a defeated look on his face. Then he turned and left, his shoulders drooping with his usual spring gone from his steps. When she uncovered the tray that he had left she found pieces of assorted fruits, cheeses and meat rolls on the tray along with a large cup of coffee. She took the tray and set it on the bunk next to the doll and picked up the coffee. After taking a drink she said to herself "Don't think some food and a cup of coffee will get you off the hook because it won't." A few minutes later she went over and picked up the tool bag which she tossed out into the common room where it landed with a clatter near the room's small table. She had thought about looking to see what Harper had brought in the bag that he was going to give her, but decided that it could wait until after she was finished being mad at him. Then she went back to her bunk and ate some of the meat rolls and cheese before picking up her book again.

**Andromeda's Hangar Deck**

As Harper left the Maru to head back to his lab he was unaware that he was not alone on the hanger deck; someone was lurking in the shadows out of his sight. The observer watched as he walked halfway to the entrance then stopped to manipulate something in his hands after which he disappeared in a flash of light. "I'm sorry Harper, but you were the only person she wouldn't talk to right now" the observer said softly as she stepped from the shadows. "I can't afford to let anyone talk to her before she forgets about the homecoming we saw. By morning the memory will be like a forgotten dream, but will leave a much needed hope in her heart. Hope that will give her the strength she needs to go on to do what she needs to do." Trance said to herself quietly as she left the hangar deck.

**_The Next Morning on the Maru_**

The first thing that Beka was aware of when she woke up was the aroma of fresh brewed coffee and Trance's voice saying "Good morning Beka, I was beginning to think you were going to sleep all day."

As Beka sat up in her bunk she noticed that she was still dressed and that she was even still wearing her boots. She let out a groan at the realization that she had slept in her new clothes. The book she had been reading was on the floor where it had landed after falling out of her had when she had fallen asleep. She looked at Trance holding out a cup of steaming hot coffee for her to take. As she took the cup she said "You didn't think I was going sleep all day because you knew when I was going to wake up." Then she took a drink of the coffee.

"How do you know?"

Beka held up the steaming cup of coffee in reply. "Ever since you first joined us on the Maru you have always had a hot cup of coffee ready for me when I woke up whenever we're on the Maru. Now I know you didn't make this coffee though, since you always seem to manage to make coffee that tastes like the stuff Harper uses to clean the engines with and this is good coffee."

"The new cook in the officer's mess made it. I brought a whole pot of it for us." Trance said as she went into the common room to get herself a cup.

Beka followed her and noticed the tool bag Harper had brought and a small red bundle on the table next to the pot of coffee. "Why did you bring that?" She asked as she pointed to the red bundle. "I thought I left that back on the drift."

"You did Beka but I picked it up because I thought you had forgotten it. Besides the old woman gave to you to give to someone who needs it just before she died and you said you would do it."

"So I left it, so what. She's dead now, it's not as if it matters to her any more."

"Beka!" Trance exclaimed "Yes it does matter. It matters to you and the person you will give it to. Besides you will be repaying a good deed."

"Ok, ok I'll do it. It's not like one small good deed is going to make a difference, it sure didn't make any difference for that old lady before she died."

"How do you know that it didn't make a difference."

"Because she was going to die before she gave it to me after Harper took all my clothes and she still died after giving it to me. So it obviously didn't change anything for her."

"Yes , but I'll bet her helping you made her feel good," Trance said with a smile. "And I know that it made a difference to you right then, didn't it?"

"Trance," Beka exclaimed in frustration, "that's not fair."

"It's the truth isn't it and if it's the truth its more then fair, it is right."

"Ok I'll do it. I'll keep this until I find some one who needs it as much as I did when she gave it to me" Beka then picked up the red cloak while setting down her coffee and took it into her cabin.

"So Beka did you like the surprise Harper brought you last night?"

"If you are talking about whatever's in that tool bag, I didn't want to open it last night so I threw it out by the table," she said while returning from in her cabin. "What's in it?" she asked while motioning for Trance to open it.

"Beka do you remember how you complained about your CD's not working after you got them back from Rafe?"

"Yeah, I think that was the only reason why he let me have them back. So I took them to Harper to see if he could fix them. Then right after that things got kind of hectic with us having to fight the Replicators and all. I guess that he hasn't had a chance to fix them yet."

"Well Harper told me that he fixed them so they all play now." she said as she began to open the tool bag .

Beka started to smile when she saw her taking out the CD's which she quickly grabbed from Trance's hands. She opened a couple of them and took them out to look at them. "There aren't any scratches on them at all. They look like they were brand new. How did he do it? I tried all the different methods of resurfacing and none of them worked."

"He said it had something to do with carbon polly something something." Trance gulped the rest of her coffee then took one of the CD's out of its case and said, "Here watch this." She quickly picked up her empty coffee cup and hit the CD with it.

"Trance don't do it." Beka shouted when she saw what was happening. "I just got it ba ..." her protest dying as she saw the coffee cup shatter against the CD.

Trance handed the CD to Beka as she said, "He said that you would have to use a nano welder or a point defense laser to scratch them now."

"He was right when he said I was going to like this surprise. " Beka said as she looked at the unblemished surface of the CD that Trance broke the cup on. "I'll see you later Trance,." Beka said as she got up and started head for the Maru's exit.

"Beka where are you going?"

"To thank Harper." Beka answered with a smile in her voice.

Trance smiled then said softly to herself, "Mission accomplished.", while she proceeded to clean up the pieces of the broken cup.


End file.
